Eamon Dunphy has described Roy Keane as 'a joke' of a TV pundit and said that he 'doesn't know much about the game'.

Keane has captured headlines during this World Cup as he suggested he wished he has inflicted injury on Iran coach Carlos Queiroz after a big fall out during their time together at Manchester United, while he also chastised former England stars Ian Wright and Gary Neville for expressing their excitement at their nation's progress to the last-16 of this World Cup.

Yet Dunphy - who was Keane's ghost writer on his autobiography back in 2002 - suggested his former colleague is playing up to his own bad boy image in work as a TV pundit, before accusing the former the Manchester United captain of lacking sufficient knowledge of the game to offer credible analysis in his role as an analyst during an outspoken appearance on RTE 2FM's Game On.

"He has become a caricature of himself, he has become a joke," declared Dunphy. "I watched the ITV coverage because he was on it and in terms of insight, he has offered nothing.

"At half-time, this is where the analysts do their job, but there is no analysis from Keane. Just smart-arse remarks saying he wants to rip Carlos Queiroz's head off, having a go at the English…there is no intelligent analysis.

"I don't think he knows much about the game. Not all the great players were good judges of the game, they didn’t know what was going on and a lot of the great coach's, Arsene Wenger and Alex Ferguson, were not great players.

"You look at Did Hamann, Liam Brady, John Giles and a lot of the pundits that was worked here, then you look at Gary Neville on Sky and the great knowledge he brings and after watching those guys, you are wiser about the game. With Keane, you get nothing."

Dunphy went on to suggest Keane's role as Republic of Ireland assistant manager discredits his ability to offer credible views as a TV panellist, as he argued this summer's World Cup in Russia has highlighted a chasm in class between Ireland and the rest of international football.

"From Ireland's point of view, this tournament has been a very bad watch because we are probably the most backward football nation in the world right now," he added.

"I watched Saudi Arabia beat Egypt and Ireland are not even playing like them. We are playing stone age stuff.

"So I don't know how Roy Keane can actually go on television and open his mouth because someone has only got to say to him that you are assistant manager or a coach to the team that plays the worst football in the game."